ATLANTA – Patients suffering from illnesses including cancer and seizures could take a form of medical marijuana under a plan that Georgia’s state legislators backed Monday ahead of an important deadline that sorts out which bills go forward and which will likely fail for the year.
Legislative rules force Georgia’s state lawmakers to get their bills approved by at least one chamber of the General Assembly by what’s commonly called “Crossover Day,” or else those bills are unlikely to get to the governor’s desk. That rule can be bent, but it is difficult.
Among the biggest debates was a plan to let people suffering from the side effects of cancer treatment, glaucoma and some seizure disorders to take products derived from cannabis oil in the hope it will ease their symptoms. House lawmakers voted 171-4 to approve the bill. It now heads to the state Senate.
The cannabis could be given to patients orally, as a liquid or pill, or administered by injections. State Rep. Allen Peake, R-Macon, the bill’s sponsor, said the cannabis could bring relief for children who suffer from hundreds of seizures daily. He said cannabis oil is low in THC, the active ingredient that produces the marijuana high.
“It is not a slippery slope toward legalization of cannabis for recreational use,” Peake said. “I stand firmly against that direction and will fight it with all my energy.”
via Georgia lawmakers back legalizing medical marijuana | Fox News.
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